Benson heroic figure for Pelicans

5:37 PM,
Feb. 12, 2014

Written by

Brett Martel

One of the people most responsible for bringing NBA All-Stars back to the Big Easy this weekend is an 86-year-old man who wasn't that into basketball for much of his life.

He is Tom Benson. And in New Orleans, NBA fans and community leaders are grateful the NFL owner - who also now owns the Pelicans - finally came around.

"He really stepped up to the plate in a big way, because there was more than an idle threat that our team was going to get moved out of the city," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. "It was really important that we had an owner that was committed to keeping the team here." ...